TikTok Is Not Happy About This McDonald's Sandwich Prank

Five days ago, Brenden, a TikTok prankster, decided to expand his repertoire from pranking the staff of supermarkets and various stores to a McDonald's. In the video, he approaches the cashier with the complaint that his McChicken Sandwich contained a frozen chicken patty. He claimed to have bought it an hour earlier and had only just discovered the issue. In actuality, he had thrown the sandwich into the freezer overnight.

Not wanting to make a fuss with a customer, the cashier brought the manager, who very kindly apologized, exclaimed that it "made no sense," and gave him a new, freshly cooked McChicken. As of writing, the scene has been viewed 4.4 million times.

The majority of reactions to the prank were negative. "Not funny bro," one wrote. "Imagine that you are working hard. You do your best in your job to move forward but are punished for a prank." "First time I didn't like one of your jokes," another agreed. Many others were further won over by how kind the manager was to Brenden, which only emphasizes how mean the prank was in the first place.

Not all reactions to the video condemned its mean spirit. "That's how we can get free food!!!" the most popular comment with 29.8K likes raved. The rest of the positive responses focused on this idea that Brenden had somehow gamed the system.

But the thing is, he didn't. As other commenters noted, the prank requires a previously bought McChicken sandwich. He's already paid for it. All he's accomplished is wasting time and, depending on the scruples of the McDonald's in question, money. Hopefully they don't simply cook it again. Those who maintain that Brenden has gotten something out of this point to either the economics of TikTok, which earn him money for views of the clip, or suggest that the McDonald's manager allowed him to keep the frozen McChicken. 

But the biggest issue with this possibility is that the prank occurs a year into a global pandemic, in which there are constant news stories of fast food workers being on the receiving end of customer misbehavior. It has sparked a supposed "labor crisis" which, as Eater reports, is really just about workers wanting wages to compensate them for their work. The prank just reeks of punching down for no reason other than because one can.